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Best and Worst Animes of Fall 2012

Sadly, I must have forgotten to do a Summer version of this. Oh well, I’ll just make sure not to forget for the next ones. With the winter anime just around the corner, it’s time to take a look what Fall had to offer. This purely subjective but I hope you agree.

Fall has always been my favorite season for animes. Simply because it comes out with consistent performances every time. This year is no exception. The problem is there was no consistent strong performance except for the Best 2. The quality of the rest are more or less in the middle ground. Safe with the occasional good episode. Well, that’s pretty good since nothing was worth dropping.

BEST 3

1) Tonari no Kabitsu-kun

This would have taken third place in my year-end review if I watched it in time. It’s that good! I can’t believe I almost missed out on this gem. Brains Base has truly brought to life an adaption worth rewatching over and over again. Nobody could put as much comedy, heart and thought together like Tonari did. It’s a retrospective at how relationships work out. How two people could always be so out of sync, scared to make a move, and how we have to take time to assess ourselves. It weaves and explores different treads in the best way possible. I’m not surprised this has gotten a lot of my personal awards for this season.

2) Bakuman 3

This series dropped a bit this season. It’s still pretty impressive but it’s not as addicting as the first two seasons. I’m not too sure if it’s because of the delayed subs. Anyway, the focus was on the new rival, Nanamine. I think his introduction was to spark some real battle excitement, but the problem is that Nanamine is very one-dimensional. While it did bring new stakes, it wasn’t the type you would get attached too. Now that is somewhat over, we can hope for better narratives.

3) Fairy Tail

Finally after 2 seasons worth of fillers, our comeback arc is here! The Magical Games is something to behold. I love every minute of it. It has higher stakes (being the underdog now), foreboding predictions and a lot of beautiful friendship moments. 20-minutes is over before I know it. I hope we have enough manga content to last us for another year.

WORST 3

1) Little Busters

I can see why many had problems with JC Staff at the helm. I can’t fathom why I’m so utterly bored with this anime with the exception of episode 2.That particular episode was purely about the random moments but the cute just gets to you. I couldn’t understand why I enjoyed that episode so much. The brilliance of episode 2 wasn’t sustained afterwards. I’m watching the gang do what they do best but I feel so distant and unable to connect anymore.

2) Psycho-Pass

I’m sorry but Urobochi Gen is so overrated. noitaminA tried to market this as a mysterious untitled piece. It worked in the beginning. I have to admit Psycho-Pass had the best pilot episode but somehow the way the story unfolds as it progresses isn’t as great. I feel it’s such a shame that darkness of the inner human isn’t totally explored. The world-building is indeed fancy and creative. It could have served as a great device.

3) Code; Breaker

I love the bigger plot wherein they show the conflicts of staying to fight for you should believe in. It’s interesting but overdone. The is greatest weakness of this show is how they rehashed old plots and attempt to come out strong. It doesn’t help that the heroine, Sakurakouji has this annoying habit of being self-righteous but at the end of the day, she doesn’t help at all. She is practically the cause of the downfall of our Code Breaker team. It doesn’t help her name has Sakura in it. Most terrible heroines have that name.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT

Little Busters

I don’t have words to say how blank I feel about this anime. I have been waiting for this since 2009. 3 years was a long wait and to come up with something mediore isn’t excusable? Right?

EXCEEDED EXPECTATIONS

Kamisama Hajimemashita

This was my lowest rated first episode for the season, but I’m glad they were able to turn the tide around as the story progressed. The anime was cute and fluffy at best. It’s got the cliche evil guy who’s actually sweet at heart and clumsy girl with an unrequited love stereotypes. Yet it delivers it in a way that I forget that it’s been done already. I’ve gotten so much sweet love quotes from this anime. It was pretty fun while it lasted.

FAVORITE ANIMATION

Sword Art Online

I think Shin Sekai Yori fans would contest. I’m sorry but the art of that anime isn’t consistent. SAO isn’t a strong contender for this category but wow, they really spent big bucks on its backgrounds.

FAVORITE CHARACTER

Mizutani Shizuku (Tonari no Kabitsu-kun)

I like how brutally honest she is. She can tell people what’s on her mind and doesn’t care how plain she is. It goes to show how she knows herself well enough but at the same time, whenever a new experience arises, she takes time out to analyze the questions. She is also very capable and focus-driven. It is easy to cave in to fun and temptation but she knows where she stands.

FAVORITE PAIRING

Yoshida Haru and Mizutani Shizuku (Tonari no Kabitsu-kun)

They aren’t the perfect people but I could truly see how each tries to make the other grow. Their focal point is how lonely, abandoned and socially inept they are but each handles it differently. Mitty is firm and decisive, mainly focusing on her grades. Haru is a free spirit and has the tendency to runaway. Mitty is like the stronghold that keeps everything grounded. Haru is the light that brings happiness to that stronghold. Their romance is really a balancing act.